Closets
by The Green Pilgrim
Summary: Ginny and Draco find themselves stuck in a closet with only each other for company. Forced to make conversation or be completely bored, they choose the former... One-shot.


A/N: …-can't believe she just wrote a 2,000 word Draco/Ginny fic- Well, this is rather interesting. The word 'sex' is in there a few times… not sure if that qualifies for PG-13 or not… I hope not… Similarly (sort of) I labeled this as romance, but nothing particularly romantic happens. It's more like a realistic beginning to a relationship through a very unrealistic situation. (Because really, none of this could never really happen). Especially considering something you should NOTE:

Ginny's all right as far as my own personal characterization of her goes, but Draco is fairly OOC… depending on how you want to look at it. I used 'fanon' Draco, after all. He's the guy who normally appears in fanfiction, especially romances. 'Canon' (book) Draco is really quite a little pansy… not to mention evil…

Disclaimer: Wouldn't it be nice if we could all make millions of dollars off of our writing?

Closets

"So…" Ginny began awkwardly. The closet was deeply shadowed from its only source of light—two wands lying side by side on the hard, stone floor—and it was difficult for her to see its other occupant. She noticed that his outline stiffened when she spoke, however; and a face made its way into the light as he scooted forward.

"Please, just don't," Draco said irately, "this is bad enough as it is."

Ginny frowned. "What? You don't even want to _try _to make conversation?"

"No," he replied simply, and sat back into the shadows once more. Ginny, feeling rather miffed, crossed her arms and turned away.

It was a rather ridiculous situation, something that would have been highly amusing if only it weren't the two of them actually suffering through it. At exactly the same time—12:07 AM, no less—both Ginny Weasley and Draco Malfoy had been taking a relaxing (not to mention illegal) walk around the school to get some thinking done and have some peace and quiet for once. They weren't originally together, of course, but just happened to pass through the same corridor at the same time. Even more coincidently, the steady footsteps of a roaming teacher had been fast approaching at the same moment. The pair had been forced to take cover lest they were discovered, and a nearby broom closet provided the perfect hiding spot.

Unfortunately the footsteps belonged to not one but _two _teachers—Professors Sinistra and Sprout. Also unfortunately, they happened to be the two biggest chatterboxes of all the Hogwarts staff. They couldn't resist the chance to stand around and chat when they happened to run into each other during their own midnight strolls.

And so, apparently cursed with very inconvenient luck, Ginny Weasley and Draco Malfoy ended up stuck in a closet. Together.

The unfriendly silence lasted a good ten minutes. Ginny spent it listening vaguely to the conversation taking place a little ways down the hall. The door was too thick to make out anything, but it was apparent that both teachers were having a fantastic time. She sighed and decided to try again.

"Well, what are we supposed to do? We can't stay in this closet forever. We might as well just give ourselves in. I mean, we're both Prefects, they won't be too—"

"Okay," Draco said, surprising her. "And then you can explain what the two of us were doing holed up in a closet together in the middle of the night."

Ginny paled before scowling at his sarcasm. "Well I'm sure the infamous "sex god of Slytherin" has been in this situation _loads _of times."

Draco snorted, "Well, that's fine, but I fear the Little Weasley's reputation would be absolutely ruined. …Did you just call me a sex god?"

Ginny's face turned red in an instant as she realized her mistake.

"_I _don't necessarily think that," she said defensively, "It's just that a lot of girls happen to… well, you've got quite a reputation…"

"Oh…" Draco said simply, before slumping back against the wall with a sigh. Ginny turned her gaze back towards the door and bit her lip.

"They can't possibly continue this conversation much longer…" she murmured. Even so, from the sound of it the professors had no intention to quit anytime soon. Everyone knew that if Sinistra or Sprout had to interrupt each other's class for any reason, students had a good twenty to thirty minutes to slack off while they gabbed. And that was when they were in a _hurry_. Ginny couldn't help but think of her mother's inability to pass some one she knew without having an extended conversation with them, especially if her impatient daughter wanted to go somewhere.

"This is ridiculous…" she said, realizing she was only talking to herself to fill the silence.

"Well, it's no picnic, that's for sure," Draco agreed. Ginny narrowed her eyes.

"What's with you, anyway? We've been here for like twenty minutes and you haven't even insulted me once. Are you feeling all right?"

His silhouette shrugged. "Why does that have to mean I'm not feeling well? I'm just not in the mood for it. Is that okay with you, or would you prefer arguing?"

"Of course I wouldn't _prefer _arguing," Ginny replied, "It's just… I think this is the first time I've ever had some what of a real conversation with you."

He emerged from his crouched position at last, coming forward enough to slouch against a pile of crates directly across from Ginny. He looked tired and strangely ethereal in the lighting.

"What did you want to talk about?" he asked boredly.

"What?" Ginny asked, startled, she'd been listening to the on-going, intelligible conversation outside.

"You seemed just _aching _to have a conversation. So what should we converse about?"

Ginny found herself blushing again, though she didn't exactly know why. She wondered if the wand-light was strong enough to reveal this to Draco. He didn't acknowledge it, which she took as a sign that it wasn't. Although at any other time she would have laughed in the face of anyone who asked her what she wanted to discuss with Draco Malfoy, she now found herself searching her brain for any topic that wouldn't get either of the two angry with each other.

_Am I that lonely? _she wondered unhappily. This question had partially been the reason for her impromptu, midnight stroll.

"Is it true you've snogged every girl in Slytherin?" she found herself blurting. Immediately she was blushing again. Where had that come from? What did she care about Draco Malfoy's love life? Oddly enough she couldn't bring herself to apologize or take it back. She was honestly curious.

Draco laughed unpleasantly, "Oh, well _that's _polite."

"Well?" she insisted crossly. His face grew very serious all of the sudden.

"No," he said. "As a matter of fact, I haven't. Obviously your sources exaggerated." Although that would have been enough, he continued, "And for your information I've only been in a closet with a girl _once _besides now, thank you very much."

"Wow," Ginny breathed.

"What? Shocked I'm not a 'sex god' after all?"

"No," she said quietly, "I just can't believe you actually told me all of that."

He gave her a calculating stare for a moment. Ginny had the disturbing feeling that his eyes could see right through her. Finally he shrugged.

"What about you?" he drawled, "when's your and Potter's baby due?"

She glared at him. "Harry and I aren't even going out," she explained hotly, "That is, we were, but then we decided to just be friends instead."

"_Uh-huh_," Draco said as if he didn't at all believe her.

"Oh grow up," she sighed. Draco raised his hands defensively.

"_You're _the one who started this conversation."

Unable to think of an adequate reply to this, Ginny turned her attention towards the door once more. "Do you think they'll _ever _stop talking?"

"Those two?" Draco snorted, "If we're lucky. And from the looks of things we aren't."

They were quiet for a while after that. Ginny found herself staring as if mesmerized at the two wands on the floor. His was longer, darker, and stiffer looking than hers. She found herself trying to guess what sort of core it had (hers was a unicorn hair, as was almost everyone in her family's). Finally she decided on a dragon heartstring, before realizing she was probably just associating that with his name.

"So why did you decide to play Quidditch?"

Ginny snapped to attention. "What?"

"I said _why did you decide to play Quidditch_?" Draco reiterated with an exasperated tone. Ginny realized with a start that _he _was actually instigating the conversation.

"I dunno," she replied hesitantly. After giving the question more thought she said, "My brothers have always been getting me to play with them. I've been flying around on our old brooms since I was five because of that. Usually they'd make _me _chase after the ball if _they _lost it so I guess I got pretty good at handling it and all. So when they needed more players two years ago…"

"All right, I didn't need your life story," Draco said passively.

It was all Ginny could do not to be baited. "What about you? You've been playing longer than me."

"I like the game," he replied simply. "I like flying, and I like winning."

"Is that why you don't like Gryffindors so much?" Ginny wondered allowed.

"What?"

"Well… Slytherin hardly _ever _beats us now a-days, so I thought maybe—"

"I don't like Gryffindors because they're conceited brunts," Draco said coldly.

"_We're _conceited?" Ginny seethed. Draco's sudden exhausted expression kept her from continuing the argument.

"I'm _really _not in the mood for this," he said. And he meant it.

"Fine, fine," Ginny sighed. "So, Quidditch. You like flying and you like winning."

"Right," he said, "And you're pretty good on a broom yourself. Maybe if Potterwasn't so _fantastic _some one would notice."

"You seemed to have noticed." And she found herself blushing yet again, this time at his approval. What was wrong with her? "And I don't know if you realize it or not, but you just complimented Harry."

"So what? He _is _a good flyer. I'm not going to deny it, especially since he's not even here. What, are you going to tell him about it?"

"Maybe," she said, although she knew she wouldn't.

Draco shrugged, "Suits me fine."

"Your eyes are _so weird_," Ginny blurted.

"What?"

"I mean, are they like _silver _or what?"

Oddly enough, he looked uncomfortable. It was the first time she'd ever seen him that way.

"They're grey," he said a bit lamely. Ginny adopted a teasing grin.

"No, they're _silver _all right. The way the light reflects in them… it's like ice, or glass, or something…"

"I'm flattered, really, but is this the first time you've ever seen my eyes or what?"

"You're usually glaring at me," Ginny explained, "So I guess I never bothered to notice."

The two lapsed into silence once more. Ginny watched curiously as Draco's gaze dropped to the two wands much as hers had before. He frowned down at them as if pondering something. Although she had no way of knowing what he could possibly be thinking, Ginny said, "It's unicorn hair."

"So is mine," he replied as if they had been discussing the topic all along. "I pictured you with a phoenix feather… I guess because of your hair…"

Ginny found herself smiling, although she didn't really understand why. After another minute or so she asked him a final question, something that had been bugging her the entire time.

"Malfoy… why were you out walking so late?"

He looked up at her, and she was disappointed to see that his silver eyes were set in their usual glare. "That's none of your business," he said coldly.

For the first time when the conversation ran out it was completely silent. _Completely_. Not a sound from the hallway could be heard. They rose simultaneously, snatched their wands, and cautiously opened the door a crack in order to peep out. The corridor was empty. Without another word, they each set off in their original separate directions. The air was clearer and colder outside the closet, and Ginny took a deep breath. Had she really just spent an hour in a closet with Draco Malfoy?

Perhaps because it would have been impolite, or just because the conversation didn't feel truly finished, she spun around and called after him, "See you later, Malfoy."

For a moment she didn't think he would acknowledge her, and the thought disappointed her more than she would have liked. But finally he lifted his hand in a careless wave.

"See ya," he said.


End file.
